Lindsay Lohan’s attempt to sue the makers of Grand Theft Auto 5 for a character seemingly parodying her has been squashed at the state level.

On Thursday, six judges at New York’s Court of Appeals unanimously shot down her privacy lawsuit against Take-Two Interactive, ruling instead that the character which offended Lohan was not a portrait of the actress, but merely had the “indistinct, satirical representations of the style, look and persona of a modern, beach-going young woman.”

Lohan filed her lawsuit against Rockstar Games (owned by Take-Two) originally in 2014, shortly after the game was released, and withstood the company’s motion for dismissal in 2016. The Grand Theft Auto 5 character in question is named Lacey Jonas. She appears in a small section of the game called “Escape Paparazzi,” and is introduced as a celebrity who quickly rose to fame before becoming a tabloid media sensation.

Lohan claimed that the character was unlawfully based on her likeness, specifying that Jonas’ voice and clothes were deliberately similar, and was promoted as such without her consent. Take-Two initially responded in 2014 by calling her filing a “publicity stunt.” While the Court of Appeals agreed with Lohan that a game character could constitute a “portrait,” it was agreed that this was not the case in this scenario. According to Polygon, the ruling actually has significant implications: “It establishes, at least in New York’s jurisdiction, that video game avatars are a likeness equivalent to photographs, films or other depictions under the law.”

Polygon adds that Lohan could take her case to the U.S. Supreme Court if she isn’t done fighting just yet.



Posted: Mar 29, 2018 11:35 pm
Last Updated: Mar 31, 2018 7:33 pm
Related Forum: Grand Theft Auto Forum

Source: https://www.vg247.com/2018/03/29/lindsay-lohan-vs-gta-5-appeal-lost/